With the swearing in of Bougainville's first autonomous provincial Government last month, the United Nations Observer Mission (UNOMB) had successfully completed its work and Papua New Guinea had taken a milestone step, which ended years-long secessionist fighting on the island, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.

With elections for the first autonomous government in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville scheduled for late May and early June, the United Nations mission there plans to fold its tent at the end of June, a report to the Security Council says.

Bougainville, now autonomous after a decade of secessionist fighting against Papua New Guinea, has destroyed at least half of its weapons, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the decision by Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu to dispatch a small civilian transition team to Bougainville after the group currently monitoring the peace process there leaves the Papua New Guinean island.